United Kingdom

Young Drivers and UK Car Insurance Rates

Recent legislation enforced by the European Court of Justice means that there will no longer be a significant difference in policy prices between men and women. However, young drivers will still be penalised with expensive car insurance rates because of the damning accident statistics that relate to teenage driving.

Young drivers in the UK do not have as many options available to reduce car insurance rates as their US cousins. Major car insurance companies do not accept academic performance as a means of expressing responsibility and the only way that young drivers can bring down the cost of car insurance quotes is to take an advanced driving examination.

Thankfully, a new incentive exists throughout the United Kingdom that gives young drivers the opportunity to improve their driving skills. The Pass Plus course is essentially a practical driving examination supported by qualified instructors who hone the skills learned during the basic driving test. Although a small amount of theoretical knowledge is covered throughout the course, the examination itself is very much hands-on.

Young drivers will learn how to use dual carriageways, motorways and country roads. There is also a section of the course that is dedicated to night time driving, and this has proven to be particularly useful because most fatal road traffic accidents involving road users under the age of 25 occur when it is dark. Although car insurance quotes remain expensive after the Pass Plus course is completed, young drivers can still expect to enjoy discounts of up to 20%.

Why Do UK Drivers use Price Comparison Websites?

Take a look through the typical British High Street, and it’s not too difficult to see some of the major changes that have happened over the past 10 to 15 years. Economic crisis, consumer spending habits and changing customer demands have seen many traditional shopping outlets closing for good. One of the most notable absentees in major towns and cities is the land-based car insurance office.

The land-based car insurance office was already dying a death long before the Internet came and sounded its final death knells. The growth of telephone call centres had made shopping for car insurance much easier, and instead of having to spend the entire weekend trudging up and down miserable shopping parades, road users were able to obtain a wider variety of car insurance quotes by making a few simple telephone calls.

Unfortunately, many car insurance companies realised that there was money to be made from telephone call centres and before long, expensive tolls were being charged every time a motorist rang up for a new set of car insurance quotes. With profits increasing because of the lack of overheads associated with telephone call centres, it was a glorious time to be selling car insurance.

Today, the telephone call centre has been superseded by price comparison website. These popular resources, which are free to use, can provide more car insurance quotes in the space of five minutes than an entire afternoon spent talking to pushy sales representatives on the telephone line. Even better, car insurance rates are usually much lower on price comparison websites because rival companies are operating on a head-to-head basis.